095 An Instinct for Trouble (3 page)

Ned moved toward the group. “I was just showing my friend Nancy around. Professor Trainey, this is Nancy Drew.” He gestured to the two people behind Trainey and added, “That’s Jack Billings, a park ranger, and Alicia Nivel, from Emerson.”

“Hi. You’re Ned’s girlfriend from River Heights, aren’t you?” A brief smile flashed across Alicia’s face. “He talks about you a lot.”

For a minute no one said anything. Then the professor turned to Ned. “Did anything new turn up on the computer?” he asked.

Ned ran his hand back through his hair nervously. “Umm-I didn’t get a chance to look. Nancy showed up just when I got to the command post,” he explained.

“I see,” Trainey replied. He crossed his arms at his waist and stared at Ned. “We’ve got fifty marmots missing, final observations to make before we leave on Saturday, at least a day of packing ahead of us-and you’ve invited a visitor here. I must say, your timing surprises me.”

Ned swallowed. “But, sir, Nancy is-“

Trainey held up his hand. “I need you down at camp in ten minutes to draft a plot of today’s readings.” He turned and headed down the path.

Alicia gave Nancy an apologetic smile and said, “You’ll have to forgive us. We’re all pretty tense these days, what with the marmots miss-

ing and the grant extension hanging in the balance.”

The ranger patted her on the back and said, “Don’t worry, Alicia. You’ll make it.”

“Thanks, Jack,” Alicia replied.

Ned shook his head despondently. “I just wish Trainey had given me a chance to explain why I invited Nancy. She’s a well-known de-

tective and is going to track down the poach-

ers.”

Nancy would have preferred to keep her role a secret for a little while longer. Oh, well, too late now, she thought.

Jack gave Nancy a big smile. “A private eye,” he said. “Well, I’ll be. And a pretty one, too.”

Nancy tried to keep from blushing, but it was no use. She thought that Jack was amaz-

ingly handsome-rugged and intelligent look-

ing, too. She turned to Alicia and asked, “What did you mean about the grant exten-

sion?”

“Our study is being paid for by a federal grant,” Alicia said. “But there were cost over-

runs, so Professor Trainey applied for an ex-

tension, but in the meantime he’s been paying some of the expenses out of his own pocket.”

Nancy whistled. “That’s pretty daring of him,” she said. “Is he wealthy?”

“I doubt it,” Ned said. “He lives in a small cottage off campus and drives a beat-up truck.

His work is about the only thing that seems to matter to him.”

Nancy turned to Jack. “I met a couple of park maintenance men today named Richard and Piker. Do you know them?”

Jack hitched his thumbs in his belt and said, “Yes, I do. Why?”

“They weren’t exactly friendly when I met them at the campsite a little while ago,” Nancy replied.

Jack gazed at Nancy. “I’m sorry if they gave you a hard time. I told them about what happened to Brad and asked them to be on the lookout for trouble. Actually, Piker and Rich-

ard are really good guys,” Jack went on.

“They’re just better at building walkways than relating to the public.”

“Oh,” Nancy said, keeping her doubts to herself. “Ned told me about Brad’s accident.

That was the day before yesterday at about eight in the evening, right?”

“Seven fifty-three, to be exact,” Ned said.

Nancy flashed him a grateful smile and continued. “Were either of you around when it happened?”

Jack gave a vigorous shake of his head. “Not me. I was at the ranger station, giving a talk on the mammals of Yellowstone. It started at seven.”

“That’s right,” Alicia said. “Jennifer and I were there. The slides were terrific!”

“Did either of you happen to use the stove that afternoon?” Nancy asked, her eyes casu-

ally moving from Jack to Alicia and back.

Alicia frowned in concentration. “I think I did. When I came up to change the film in the cameras, I made some hot chocolate.”

“What time was that?” Nancy pressed.

“Six-thirty,” Alicia replied. “I left about ten minutes later to go to the lecture. I made it just in time.”

“I remember you huffing and puffing as you ran into the room,” Jack said with a grin. “But speaking of time, Trainey told us to meet him in ten minutes.”

“And me in the doghouse already!” Ned exclaimed. “Come on. Nancy.”

Nancy and Ned jogged down the path to the campsite with Alicia and Jack close behind them. When they reached the parking area, Ned gave Nancy a quick kiss, then dashed off.

Nancy drove away, thinking about the inves-

tigation. If Alicia’s recollection was correct, the propane stove was working at six-thirty on the day of the accident. But by seven fifty-

three, it had been sabotaged. If she could place someone at the observation hut during that time period, it would go a long way toward breaking the case.

As she drove up to the hotel, she saw Bess standing on the porch, peering anxiously at the road. The moment she spotted Nancy, she started waving wildly. Nancy parked and ran over to her.

“What is it, Bess?” she demanded. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Bess replied. “I think I just solved the whole case!”

“What do you mean?” Nancy sank down onto a porch swing.

Bess dropped down next to Nancy and handed her a piece of paper. “Just look at this,” she said.

Nancy’s eyes widened when she read the title: “Hot New Pet Craze-Whistling Mar-

mots.” The sheet had been photocopied from a magazine. In the article the words native to Yellowstone were highlighted in orange.

Nancy’s heart began to race. “Where did you get this?”

“I was sitting in the lobby,” Bess explained, “when a rich-looking couple came in and stopped near me. As they moved away, I noticed a piece of paper on the floor, so I picked it up.”

“Hmm.” Nancy scanned the page and read out loud. ” ‘Rock star Randy Dean’s fondness for collecting marmots has made the creature a sought-after pet among the rich and famous.

According to one U.S. wildlife specialist, some people are willing to pay as much as five hundred dollars for one of these animals.’”

“Randy keeps a bunch of marmots on his California estate,” Bess said. “According to the article, one of them escaped. A neighbor found it in her kitchen, munching its way through a box of cereal. The story made the newspapers, and ever since then people have wanted marmots.”

“That’s very interesting,” Nancy said slow-

ly. “I guess we should find out the couple’s names and where they come from.”

Bess grinned proudly. “They’re Gerald and Edith Turkower, and they’re from-just guess -Bel Air, California.”

Nancy stared. “How do you know?”

“Simple,” Bess said smugly. “While they were registering, I checked their luggage tags.”

“Good work,” Nancy told her friend. “Tell you what,” she added, “as a reward, I’ll treat you to a cup of tea and a snack. I’ll also fill you in on what I’ve learned so far.”

The dining room had log walls and wooden ceiling beams. As they sat down at a table near the windows, Bess leaned forward and whis-

pered, “Two tables to your left-those are the Turkowers.”

Nancy casually glanced in their direction as the waitress arrived to take her order.

Then, just as their pie and tea arrived, a bellhop walked through the dining room, say-

ing, “Nancy Drew, telephone call for Nancy Drew.”

Nancy waved to him and identified herself.

“It sounds like an emergency,” he told her, pulling a cordless phone from a holster on his belt.

“Hello? Yes?” Nancy said.

“Nancy, thank goodness I got you,” a breathless voice said. “It’s Alicia Nivel. You’ve got to come at once. Ned’s been hurt!”

Chapter Four

NANCY clutched the phone so tightly that her knuckles turned white. “What happened?”

“We don’t know,” Alicia replied. “We found him on the floor at the command post uncon-

scious. He must have fallen and hit his head on something. When he came to, he asked us to call you right away, so I drove down to the general store at Madison Junction.”

“I’ll be there as soon as possible.” Nancy switched off the phone and sprang up from her seat. “Ned’s been hurt,” she told Bess. “I have to go to him right away.”

“I’ll go, too.” Bess waved for the waitress and paid the check while Nancy went on ahead to get the car.

The fifteen miles to the campsite seemed to take forever. When Nancy turned in to the parking area, she flung the door open in one movement, then dashed up to camp and straight to the tiny cabin. Bess followed. In-

side, Nancy saw Jack, Jennifer, and Alicia clustered around Ned with an open first-aid kit on the floor nearby. Ned was sitting propped up against the wall, holding his head in his hands.

“Ned!” Nancy cried as she rushed in and knelt beside him. “Are you all right?”

“I feel a lot better now that you’re here.”

Jennifer reluctantly moved aside so Nancy could look at the back of Ned’s head. There was a huge bump and dried blood on it. “What happened?” she asked.

Ned shifted, and as he did, Nancy noticed something gleaming on the floor behind him.

She picked it up and tucked it into her pocket.

“Let me think. I was on my way over to the command post. The door was ajar, and it’s supposed to be kept shut because there’s a lot of valuable hardware in here. So I decided to make sure everything was okay. I got inside, and the next thing I knew, I was lying here with this lump on my head and the mother of all headaches. Somebody must have hit me.”

Just then Bess arrived. “Ned,” she gasped, “are you okay?”

“Hi, Bess,” he answered, trying his best to sound normal. “Guys, this is Bess Marvin.”

Jennifer and Alicia nodded to Bess. Jack glanced at her, smiled broadly, and held out his hand to shake hers. “Hello there, I’m Jack Billings. Boy, does Ned Nickerson have some great-looking friends.”

Bess blushed but said nothing.

Nancy got to her feet. “Someone obviously wanted something. Is all the equipment still here?”

Alicia had been studying the computer ta-

ble. “It doesn’t look as if anything was taken.”

Nancy crossed to the supply room. Every-

thing looked much as it had when she had seen it a couple of hours earlier. Then she noticed the hypodermic syringe and several vials of tranquilizer were missing.

“Did anyone take a syringe and some tran-

quilizer vials out of here?” Nancy asked over her shoulder.

Alicia stepped inside and checked the shelf.

“Oh-they are missing. But who would have taken them?”

Nancy’s thoughts raced. First the group had discovered fifty marmots missing, and now someone seemed to have stolen tranquilizers that could sedate more marmots. Was some-

one planning to tranquilize the fifty stolen creatures so they could be quietly shipped out of the park?

Before she could ask more questions. Nancy saw Professor Trainey at the doorway.

“Now what?” he demanded, slightly out of breath. “Can’t I leave this project for five minutes without-” His voice faded as he noticed Ned on the floor.

“Someone hit Ned over the head,” Jennifer told her father. “And tranquilizers are missing from the supply room.”

Trainey’s eyes widened as he knelt beside Ned. “We’ve got to get you up to the hospital in Gardiner as soon as we can.” He glanced around the room, clearly upset. “Can someone drive him there? We can’t take chances-not with a head injury.”

“I’ll go,” Nancy quickly offered. “Where is it?”

“Gardiner is just over the state line in Montana, right outside the north entrance of the park. I’ll ride along and show you the way,” Jack offered. “Just give me a couple of minutes to clear it with headquarters.”

Nancy remembered the object she had stashed in her pocket. She slipped it out unob-

trusively. It was a Phi Beta Kappa key. Turning it over, she saw the initials D.T. engraved on the back. Dan Trainey.

She leaned down to pat Ned’s shoulder, then crossed the room.

“Professor?” she said quietly. “May I speak to you privately for a moment?”

Frowning, Trainey followed her outside.

“If you’re concerned about Ned’s care, don’t be,” he began.

“It’s not that,” Nancy replied. She showed him the gold medallion. “I found this just now under Ned. It’s yours, isn’t it?”

Trainey took the key from her palm and examined it. “Yes,” he said. “I noticed I’d lost it a few days ago. Thanks.”

“How do you suppose it came to be lying under Ned-now?” Nancy asked.

Trainey flushed. “What are you implying?”

“Professor Trainey,” Nancy said, “I’m a de-

tective. Something strange is going on here.

Ned asked me to help find out what it is.”

“Now, look here,” Trainey said impatiently.

“I have a research assistant in the hospital, another of my students on the way there, fifty marmots missing, and a crucial deadline com-

ing up in a couple of days. The last thing I need is an amateur detective in my hair. Do I make myself clear?”

Nancy remained calm. “Do you realize,”

she asked, “that someone from your group could be behind all the trouble?”

Trainey’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?

Knowing she finally had his full attention, Nancy continued. “As I understand it, each marmot’s transmitter has its own distinctive code, right?

“Yes, of course,” Trainey replied, his voice ominously low.

“So someone could use the computer to pin down an animal’s location at any given mo-

ment?” she pressed.

“That’s what the equipment is designed to do-if you know the codes,” Trainey replied.

Nancy fixed her eyes on the professor’s face.

“And who knows them?”

Trainey shrugged. “Everyone here, I sup-

pose. The list is in the computer. …” The professor’s voice trailed off as he realized the significance of what he had just said.

“It all points to an inside job, professor,”

Nancy said quietly.

Trainey scowled. “Look, Ms. Drew, are you suspecting me of jeopardizing my project?